A New Shade of Pink
by Lady Dawson
Summary: Liz Summers was a normal teenage girl until she finds a pink gem and her family is killed in front of her by Tyranndrones. As she heads to Reefside to bring them to justice, she will find friends, allies, and a new destiny.
1. Her Life Forever Changed

**A New Shade of Pink**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter One: Her Life Forever Changed

Laughter broke out across the city park as two teenagers were playing volleyball in the playground, both of them spiking the ball towards the other. One was a tall, blond boy with an easy, charming smile and wide, innocent brown eyes, dressed casually in a white t-shirt and blue jeans. The other was a small girl with long brown hair and bright brown eyes, filled with laughter as she delivered another hit to the blond.

Elizabeth Summers, called Liz by her twin, grinned towards her brother as he threw the ball back over the net and she knocked it right back.

"Oh, come on, Sammy!" she yelled back at him. "You're going on easy on me! If you don't stop, then I'm gonna come over there and hit you where it hurts. Come on, let's get this going already!" she teased, still laughing. "You don't want Theresa to see you losing to your sister, do you?"

Sam grinned back at her, not minding her teasing one bit. Besides being her twin brother, Sam was one of her best friends, the only person that she could depend on entirely.

"You wouldn't," he said threateningly, giving her a dangerous grin.

"Wouldn't I?" she said mischievously, bouncing the ball back from one hand to the other before she hit it towards the sky and caught it. "Now are you going to play or are you just gonna wimp out?"

"Bring it on, little sister. You asked for it."

"I'm not your little sister, Sammy," she pointed out. "You're only one minute older than me. That doesn't count." Sam just grinned as she launched the ball again. It launched off into the sky, landing on the other side and Sam hit the ball back with more effectiveness than he had been doing all morning. "Now, that's better!" she joked.

"Keep it up, kid sister," he warned her, but he was smiling. Liz smiled back at him. "Just keep it up."

Ever since their mother had taken off when they were eight years old, Liz and Sam had stuck together, hardly ever seen without the other, and no one at school ever dared mess with Liz, because they knew what Sam would do if he heard that anyone hurt his sister. The two were closer than siblings and the best friends that anyone could ask for.

Perhaps as a result of being raised solely by her father and alongside her brother, Liz was behind in the make-up and fashion departments. Even at sixteen, she only owned a single tube of lipstick and her wardrobe was limited to blue jeans, t-shirts, and a few jackets. She didn't even own one skirt or dress and Liz didn't particularly mind. She had the best brother that anyone could ask for and a father who would do anything for them.

What more could a girl ask for?

"Sam! Liz!" their father hollered over to them. Liz lifted her hand to her forehead towards where their father was barbequing at one of the barbeque pits that the local park provided while they had been playing volleyball. He waved to them. "Hamburgers are almost ready!" he shouted to them.

"We'll be right there, Dad!" Sam yelled, then looked to Liz, grinning. "Race you," he offered.

Liz opened her mouth to protest, but Sam had already broken into a run and she had to run in order to catch up with him. It did no good to run against Sam; he was a lot taller than she was and had longer legs. So she had long given up trying to race against Sam.

But she wasn't about to tell him that. Liz grinned as she got to where their dad was laying a plate of hamburgers on the picnic table, looking very proud of himself.

"All right, I really think that I've got it this time," he said. Sam and Liz looked at each other; both of them had too much experience of their father's cooking, which is why most nights at home, the twins alternated between cooking and doing dishes. "Hey, I saw that."

"What?" Sam asked innocently.

"That look that you two were giving each other," their father said. Liz grinned as she handed the buns out. "All right, just because I've burned dinner a time . . . or two . . . doesn't mean that I am completely incapable of cooking a couple hamburgers."

Liz nodded, fighting a smile. "Whatever you say, Dad," she said as he lifted a hamburger to his mouth and swallowed. Both twins watched him closely as he instantly forced himself to smile.

"It's . . . not bad," he said weakly. Liz shook her head as she bit into the hamburger; whatever he had done to it made her mouth feel like it was on fire and she forced herself to swallow, wondering if she was going to get the feeling back into her mouth. "How about I go get some hot dogs to cook over the fire? That sound good?"

"Good idea, Dad," Liz said encouragingly.

Their father sighed as he took the hamburgers and tossed them out for the birds to eat, but the first ones who dived for the fresh food moved away the second that they had tried it. He rolled his eyes. "That's pathetic. Even birds refuse to eat my food."

"We didn't refuse, Dad," Sam pointed out. "But we wouldn't have any feeling in our mouth if we had continued to eat them." Their dad made a face at him before he climbed into his car and drove away from the campsite and headed towards town.

Liz shook her head. "How anybody can mess up hamburgers is beyond me," she commented.

"Yeah, tell me about it," Sam said, running a hand through his hair as he looked over Liz's shoulder and Liz glanced behind her to see a beautiful redhead heading through the campsite, directly towards the twins.

"I'm gonna go explore in the woods," Liz said briskly, not about to see her brother embarrass himself as he usually did whenever he was around pretty girls. "I'll be back in about a half-hour, at most."

"Sure," Sam said absently. Liz shook her head, sure that he hadn't heard a single thing that she had said, and walked away, heading down the trail heading into the woods.

Once in the forest, Liz felt something tugging towards her, something primordial, ancient, and almost . . . prehistoric. She couldn't explain what it was, but the further she seemed to get into the forest, the stronger that the feeling seemed to get.

Checking her watch, Liz glanced behind her to see if there was anybody around before she broke into a run, following the tugging through the woods.

It seemed to be further in the woods than she would have thought, further than anybody had even ventured. She had moved off of the trail some time ago and was now just racing through the dark woods, following the intense tugging that grew stronger with every step that she took.

At long last, she saw something bright and ancient ahead of her, glowing with power that seemed to grow even brighter when she walked towards her, her heart beating in anticipation as she slowly moved towards it, slowly kneeling before the glowing rock that lay amongst the leaves and earth.

It radiated pink as she stared at it, astonished by the light that spilled from it, growing even brighter as she moved closer to it. The feeling that she had been following had led her directly to this rock, she realised, suddenly aware of how the tugging was pushing her towards the rock.

She didn't know what it was, didn't know what the feeling was, didn't know what the rock was, but there was something about it that . . . that just . . . Liz couldn't explain it, but she just knew, deep inside of her, that the rock _belonged_ to her. It was hers. There was no real reason behind her knowledge. She just knew that.

Reaching out for the rock, Liz hesitated only for a second, not sure if she should be taking strange rocks from the middle of a park, but her connection to the rock spiked and she closed her hand around it.

The second that she touched it, the rock practically exploded with light, almost blinding her, and she shielded her eyes away from the light until it had diminished. Liz blinked, seeing dots in front of her eyes as she stared down at the little stone in her hand, turning it over in her hands and wondering exactly what it was.

Getting to her feet, Liz stared down at the rock for another second before she slipped it into her pocket and turned around, heading back the way that she had come. As long as she kept going straight, she decided, then she was bound to run back into the trail and that would lead back to the park.

It felt like hours before she finally managed to find the trail again and Liz knew by now her father and brother had to be worried sick about her. She was supposed to be back at the campsite hours ago. Liz broke into a run, racing through the trail and trying to get back before they started panicking.

The sun had already begun to set in the west when she finally managed to reach the end of the trail and spilled out into the campsite, trying to get her breathing in order as she ran towards where her father's car was parked.

"Sam! Dad!" Liz screamed, seeing no sign of them. Desperation and anxiety ran through her as she looked around for some sign of where they could have gone. "Daddy! Sammy!" she shouted. Surely, if they had gone looking for her in the woods, one of them would have stayed behind in case she had come back? "Sammy! Dad!" she shouted.

"Looking for these two?" a sinister, evil voice said from behind her. It was a voice that Liz would never forget for the rest of her life.

The woman that stood before her was the depiction of evil. She had dark hair and dark, evil eyes. Just by looking at her, Liz felt her blood turn cold and if it were even possible, it turned even colder when she saw a bunch of dinosaur looking freaks behind her, two of them holding her father and Sam.

"Sam!" Liz hollered, trying to run to the, but was blocked by the freaky lizard guys. "Dad!" She tried to fight them, but there was too many of them as she looked at the lady. "What do you want?"

"I want the pink Dino Gem," she answered smoothly, holding her hand out as though she expected Liz to just hand it over, a smug, dangerous smile on her face. "Now, little girl, or you're going to have to suffer the consequences," she warned her.

Liz told her to do something that, if these were entirely different circumstances, she never would have said in front of her father. The lady only laughed, her dark eyes glittering dangerously.

"Suit yourself," she said simply and snapped her fingers. Liz was thrown back by the explosion that occurred, landing behind the car. She covered her head as she heard blasts rocket around her and the car shuttered under the impact.

Her breath shuddering, Liz scrambled to her feet, but the lady was still standing there and at her feet—

Liz let out a half-scream, covering her mouth in anguish, horror, and terror. Sam and her father were lying at her feet, neither one of them moving.

"Poor little Lizzie," the lady said mockingly, taking a step towards her. "All alone in the world. Daddy's gone, Sammy's gone . . . what will you do now?" She smirked. "You might want to think about handing over that gem, little girl. We'll be in Reefside, if you change your mind."

What happened next, Liz wasn't exactly sure, but one second, she was standing in front of her, surrounding by the freaky dinosaur looking things, and the next, Liz was alone with her dead family.

Her breath quavering in her chest, Liz moved towards them, falling to her knees as she pulled Sam into her lap and gripped her father's hand tightly.

"Daddy?" she whispered, desperately for him to hear her. "Sammy?"

But neither one of them answered her. And they no longer were able to. Because of that lady's cruelty, her brother's young life had been ripped away from him before he had really lived it. And her father had been killed before he had the change to find happiness again.

Liz didn't know when the cops had arrived or the ambulances or riding to the hospital. Her mind was focused on what had just happened and she knew that there was only one person who might be able to help her.

She walked in a daze to the pay phone, putting a few quarters in and dialling a well-rehearsed number. On the third ring, someone picked up.

"Hello?"

"Aunt Kimberly?" Liz whispered.

--

Sitting outside of the back steps of her house, Liz stared determinedly into the horizon, her thoughts miles away. She didn't know who that woman was or what was so special about that gem that made it so important for her to get it, but one thing she did know: she would never hand it over. It was important and Liz could feel it, right in her soul. And it belonged to her.

Hearing the back door open, Liz glanced up as Kimberly Hart walked out, taking a seat next to her, drawing her niece into her arms. Behind the two girls, Kimberly's best friend Jason Scott was standing in the doorway, his arms folded across his chest.

"Hey, sweetie," Kimberly said gently, caressing the teenager's brown hair as Liz laid her head onto her aunt's shoulder. Just by looking at them, one might mistake them for sisters or even mother and daughter. The resemblance between them was uncanny. Liz looked like sixteen-year-old Kimberly. "How are you doing?" Liz only shrugged, not really paying much attention as she continued to stare out towards the horizon. "I know that it really hurts right now, but I promise you that it will get better. You just need a little bit of time and then—"

"Time?" Liz pulled away from her aunt, looking at her furiously. "Is that what I need, Aunt Kim? I need some time to get over watching my family get murdered by some psycho?" Kimberly looked at her helplessly, then looked towards Jason. "Look, I know you guys are trying to help. And I'm grateful, I am, but . . . time's not the issue. The cops are never going to be able to find them. No one is. That woman . . . those things that attacked . . . they weren't human. They were something else."

She had told this much to the cops, who thought that she was just delusional because of the trauma. But Liz knew that she wasn't. She knew exactly what it was that she had seen. And she knew that the only two people who might believe her would be Kim and Jason.

"Lizzie," Jason said quietly, "even if they were something else, I don't know if there's anything that we can do. We're not . . ." He took a quick glance around and lowered his voice. "We're not Rangers anymore."

"I know," Liz said firmly. Her aunt had used to tell her stories when she was a kid, about her time as the original Pink Ranger, but she had to promise not to tell anybody. So long as she kept the secret, her aunt told her the most amazing and incredible stories about her and Jason when they were Power Rangers. "But I have to do something. I can't just sit here while that woman and those things attack somebody else and destroy their lives just like they destroyed mine."

Jason sighed and looked sideways at his best friend, who looked back at him before returning her gaze to her niece. "You won't be able to stop them."

"Maybe. Maybe not. That's not the most important thing here. The most important thing is making sure that they don't hurt anybody else." Liz put her hands on her hips, glaring at her uncle. "So teach me to fight them."

"You can't learn karate on a whim. It takes months—years—to become a master and even then . . . I was doing it for years before I became the Red Ranger," Jason told her.

Liz shrugged, keeping her gaze on him. "So teach me the basics," she said firmly. "Growing up alongside a twin brother hasn't exactly made me a weakling, Uncle Jason. I can defend myself. So just teach me what I need to know to fight these guys."

"They're not the same ones that we fought," Jason sighed, but seemed to realise that she wasn't going to take no for an answer. One way or another, she would find a way to get to Reefside, where that lady said they would be, and if she went there unprepared, then he and Kim might be preparing Liz's funeral next.

"Are you sure about this, honey?" Kimberly whispered.

"I'm ready," Liz said firmly as Jason stepped down into the yard, getting ready for hours of karate lessons. "So teach me."

--

AN: Be kind, okay? This is the first Ranger fic that I've ever wrote. Oh, and if anybody knows where I can find scripts for the Dino Thunder episodes, I'd really appreciate it.

Lady Dawson


	2. First Day at School

**A New Shade of Pink**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Two: First Day of School

The sun was bright and beautiful, shining down upon Reefside High as Liz climbed out of her car, locking it behind her as she walked towards the school, her bag hoisted onto her shoulder as she walked through the campus towards the building, her nerves already on end as she headed through the hallways, searching for the office.

When she finally located it, she pushed open the door and entered the quiet office with trepidation, walking hesitantly over to the desk as the secretary was on the phone.

Waiting patiently for the secretary to finish, Liz felt someone watching her and glanced around to see a tall, dark haired woman in the door to the principal's office. Something about her seemed familiar to Liz and it sent cold chills down her spine, but she shook her head, turning back to the secretary as she hung up, looking brightly up at Liz.

"Hello, what can I do for you, honey?" she asked in a chirpy, high-pitched voice. Liz pulled her transcripts out of her bag, handing them over to the secretary.

"My name's Liz Summers, I'm supposed to start here today," she explained. The secretary pulled the transcripts towards her before going through them, checking everything to make sure that it was up to date and asking Liz a few questions about her classes to make up a schedule.

Liz answered them as best she could, putting on her best smile. Her aunt had only agreed to let her come here to stop that lady and those creatures if she continued to go to school and keep her grades up. Aunt Kimberly technically had custody of her, but she was in Florida, training the next gymnastics team for the Olympics, so Liz lived in a small apartment by herself.

Once the secretary finished filling out a schedule for her, she handed it to Liz, along with a locker number and a brilliant smile for the new student. "All right, I think we're all set," she said. "Welcome to Reefside, Miss Summers."

"Thanks," Liz said with a small smile as she hoisted her bag higher up onto her shoulder and headed out of the office, looking down at the locker number before she turned her attention to the gold letters on the lockers, trying to find hers.

When she finally located it, Liz opened it up, pushing her lunch into it and taped a few pictures to the inside of it. One of her, her dad, and Sam outside of their house back home and the other was a picture of her, Aunt Kimberly, and Uncle Jason on the couch of a long past Christmas. Her heart ached at the sight of her brother and father, but closed it as she lifted her bag up onto her shoulder again and began searching for her first class, which was science.

Great, science first thing in the morning. This should be a piece of cake, she thought miserably.

Science had never exactly been one of her best subjects and having it first thing in the morning wasn't exactly thrilling. Liz made a mental note to drink lots and lots of coffee before she came to school each morning, to wake her up in time for science.

The bell rang and she mentally chided herself, checking the numbers on the door until she realised that she was completely turned around and headed in the opposite direction, finally managing to find the right number and pushed open the door just as the teacher was taking attendance.

The second that she opened the door, every head snapped in her direction and the teacher looked around at her, his face paling when he saw her. He looked like he saw a ghost.

"Uh . . . is . . . is this first-period science?" she asked weakly. The teacher shook his head to clear it and nodded.

"Yeah, yeah, it is," he said. "You must be Miss Summers. I'm Dr. Oliver." He still looked shaken, she noticed, frowning slightly. What was the big deal? she wondered. "There's a seat for you in the back. Here's your book."

Liz took the book, thanking him with a small smile as she made her way to the back, well aware of how every single person was looking at her as she made her way to the only free seat, right in the very back.

That was fine. This was better. In the back meant being unnoticed by all of the watchful eyes. At least in theory.

Thankfully, the door opened again, pulling everyone's attention away from the new girl, who glanced up at the interruption and saw three students enter the class, obviously having run here.

One was an African American boy dressed in a blue, with a quirky smile and there was something of intelligence in his dark eyes as he headed into the room with the two others.

The second one was a blonde girl who dark eyes and dressed in yellow. Judging from the music stuff on her bag, Liz guessed that she was into music, maybe even a singer.

And then there was him.

He stood taller than the other two, much taller than Liz, dressed in blue jeans and a red shirt with brown hair that swept into his face and into his brown eyes, which shifted towards Liz as he felt her gaze and she blushed, averting her gaze from him as she determinedly stared down at her notebook, determined not to look back up until the lesson had started.

But she couldn't shake the feeling that there was something about him, about all of them, that connected her to them. And she realised that her pocket was humming.

The pocket that currently held the pink gem that she had found in the forest.

Liz frowned as she realised this, glancing towards the three students quickly before looking away as she realised that the red guy was still looking at her curiously.

"Sorry we're late, Dr. O," the blue guy said apologetically. "There were some . . . problems this morning."

Dr. Oliver nodded once. "It's all right, just take your seats, Ethan," he instructed. The three students moved into the class, taking their assigned seats as he started the lesson. Liz opened her book to the right page, but she couldn't keep her mind on the lesson as she glanced at the red boy, unable to resist the urge to look at him.

But what surprised her was that he was looking back at her too, his brown eyes firmly attached onto her. He grinned cockily at her and mouthed, _"I'm Conner."_

_"Liz," _she mouthed back. He grinned as Dr. Oliver interrupted them and was forced to turn back around to pay attention to the lesson, but Liz could still feel his gaze flickering towards her every once in awhile. And somehow, that thought pleased her.

--

Everywhere that she went that day, Liz saw the red guy—Conner—along with his friends. She could feel him looking at her, but couldn't force herself to go talk to him. Her insides squirmed and her heart beat very fast just by looking at him; she didn't want to chance talking to him.

Besides, the last guy who made her feel like this had humiliated her in front of the entire football team. And this time, Sam wasn't here to have her back. She was alone now.

Liz walked through the hallways, trying to keep to herself, but Reefside was a small city and she was the new girl. Everyone, it seemed, kept looking at her, as though she were the most interesting thing that happened lately. One girl named Cassidy even tried to get an interview with her.

During lunch break, Liz grabbed her lunch out of her locker and headed out to the courtyard, quickly slipping through the crowds and heading to an empty table, claiming it quickly as she opened up her lunch, eating it quietly as she pulled out a book, turning it to the right page as she began reading.

There was a forty-minute break for lunch, so Liz ate as fast as she could before making a quick exit for the gymnasium, knowing that it was going to be empty right now.

Changing quickly into her gym clothes, Liz out into the gym, taking a fighting stance and moving into the position that Jason had showed her.

Her body moved on its own, already knowing what position it was going to take next before the first one was performed, keeping herself alert to everything that was happening around her. Liz spun and kicked in every direction, her breathing soft and even as she sensed someone coming up from behind her.

Immediately, she launched into a spinning kick, knocking the guy who was coming up behind her to the ground. Thankfully, they were on the mats, so there wasn't much damage, but he still grunted when he landed and Liz swore under her breath.

"Oh, jeez, I am so sorry," she said, running to help him up. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," he said, looking up. Liz took a sharp breath when she saw that it was Conner. But she shook her head to clear it, offering her hand and as he took it, Liz felt a strange, electric feeling go through her that only disappeared when he released her hand. "Yeah, don't worry about it, I'm fine."

"Are you sure? I can go get the nurse," Liz said anxiously, but he shook his head.

"No, I'm fine, not even a bruise," he told her. Liz nodded as she took a step back.

"You shouldn't sneak up on people like that," she told him. "Not when they're practicing karate. You could get hurt."

"Yeah, I, uh . . . I got that," Conner said with a grin. Liz felt a small smile escape from her as she looked down, folding her arms across her chest as she looked back up at him. "You're Liz Summers, right?"

She nodded. "Yeah."

"I'm Conner McKnight," he said, offering her his hand. Liz hesitated, but accepted it as he shook it.

"I know," she answered. "We've got Science together."

"And History and English," he reminded her. Liz smiled as she looked down. "So, what brings you to Reefside?" he asked.

That was all that it took for her smile to slip and she looked away. "If you don't mind, I'd rather not talk about that," she said quietly. The pain of seeing her father and Sam murdered right in front of her was still too raw, too fresh, too new.

"I'm sorry," Conner said awkwardly. Liz didn't answer, just kept her gaze firmly fixed on the mats. "Where'd you learn how to do that?"

"Karate?" Liz asked, looking back up at him. "My uncle taught me. Well, my aunt some too, but mostly my uncle. Well, he's not exactly my uncle. He and my aunt have been best friends since they were toddlers and they grew up together, so they pretty much call each other brother and sister, so somehow, I just got into the habit of calling him my uncle and . . ." Liz trailed off as Conner started grinning. "I'm babbling."

"No, that's okay. Babbling's cool," Conner said, but he was chuckling. Liz shook her head. "Plus, you hit pretty hard, for a girl."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Liz asked, giving him a look. "You think that girls can't fight?"

"No, I didn't mean that, girls can fight, it's just that . . ." Conner stopped talking when he saw Liz's smile and he frowned. "Is this one of those 'quit while you're ahead' things?"

"Nope. This is a 'quit while you're behind' things."

Conner grinned and she smiled back, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear from where it had fallen out of her ponytail. "So, how are you liking Reefside so far?" he asked as Liz walked over to where her stuff was lying, taking a drink from her water bottle.

Liz shrugged, climbing up onto the bleachers. "It's no so bad," she admitted. "I mean, everybody's been . . . friendly, I guess." She shook her head. "I don't know. It's not that they've been mean or anything, it's just that . . . they're putting me on this pedestal. No matter where I go, it seems like I'm the centre of attention."

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Conner agreed.

"You seem like you'd enjoy it, though," Liz pointed out. "I don't want to be the centre of attention. I just want them to back off. It's hard enough trying to get used to a new school without everybody with their eyes on you every hour of the day, as though they're expecting me to fall flat on my feet at any given second." She shook her head, her thoughts turning to when she had first seen him and the look that Dr. Oliver had given her. "So . . . do you know Dr. Oliver at all?"

Conner shrugged. "Sure."

"Well, you wouldn't happen to know why he gave me that weird look this morning, would you?" Liz asked. Conner frowned and she explained. "Sorry, you weren't there. I forgot. When he saw me, I don't know, it was like . . . like he saw a ghost or something."

Shaking his head, Conner said, "I don't know. He doesn't exactly share his personal life with his students." Liz nodded, but was still perturbed about it as the bell rang.

"Shoot," Liz muttered, looking down at her clothes. "And I still have to get changed."

"I'll wait for you," Conner offered.

"That's nice of you, but I don't want you to be late," Liz said, shaking her head. "Don't worry about it. I'll be all right." Conner hesitated, but nodded slowly, heading out of the gym, but glanced back at her as he paused briefly at the door.

Liz hurried into the locker room to swiftly change, dressing quickly into her regular outfit before grabbing her backpack and racing out the door, hoping that she would make it to her next class without being late.

Unfortunately, this attempt was futile, but the teacher was nice enough to understand that, being a new student, she hadn't exactly figured out where the rooms were at. Liz didn't bother to correct him.

It felt like forever until the last class let out and she headed towards her car to drive back to her apartment. Conner was standing near his two friends, but caught her looking at him and grinned at her, waving to her.

Blushing, Liz gave a small wave back before she climbed into her car, tossing her bag into the passenger seat, well aware that her heart was beating faster than usual as she pulled her way into traffic.


	3. A Growing Bond

**A New Shade of Pink**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Three: A Growing Bond

Pushing open the door to her apartment, Liz walked over to the phone that was ringing off of the hook, placing it onto her ear. "Hello?" she answered, setting her backpack onto the island table, unclasping it to pull out her books for homework.

"Hey, Lizzie," her aunt said on the other end. "I just wanted to check in and make sure that your first day went all right. How'd everything go?"

"It went fine," Liz answered as she retrieved her science homework and began pouring over it while talking to her aunt. "I mean, there were a few problems, but nothing major. I even met a few potential friends," she added, thinking of Conner. "And maybe one who might be more," she whispered to herself, but unfortunately, her aunt caught it.

"Hmm, I'm guessing that we're talking about a guy?" Kimberly asked eagerly. Liz couldn't help but laugh in embarrassment. "Wow, so what's his name? What's he like?"

"I don't know that much about him," Liz admitted. "His name's Conner McKnight, the star of the soccer team. But he was really nice and . . . well, I almost broke his nose when he walked in on me practicing karate in the gym."

Kimberly laughed. "I'm going to assume that you were doing it on your own free time and weren't supposed to be in class?"

"Hey, I was doing it after I finished lunch and before sixth period started," Liz complained. "Give me a little bit of credit here, Aunt Kim. I'm not completely mental." Kimberly only laughed. "But we talked and he was really nice." She paused. "I'm not used to that. Usually, people only talked to me because I was Sam Summers' sister. I mean, there were a few people that I talked to, but most of them knew me through Sam. It's different."

"Honey, I can't even begin to understand what you're going through," Kimberly told her gently. "You lost your dad and your brother, your twin. That's more than anybody should go through at sixteen."

"Yeah . . ." Liz glanced down at her watch, frowning. Currently, her aunt was in Rome, training gymnasts for the Olymptics. "Hey, isn't it getting pretty late out there? Isn't it around one in the morning over there?"

"Twelve," Kimberly answered, yawning. "Yeah, I'm headed to be in a few minutes. And I swear, when I do come home to check up on you, I won't be able to even catch up with you, because I'll be jet-lagged all weekend." She groaned slightly. "So, have you heard from Jason?"

"He's supposed to come up this weekend and check up on me," Liz answered. "You two do know that I am sixteen years old? I'm not exactly a child. I can take care of myself."

"Yes, but as long as you are under eighteen, you are under my guardianship. And therefore, I will continue checking up on you and I will have Jason driving up every so often just so he can make sure that you're doing what you are told."

"Do you trust me at all?" Liz complained.

"Yes, I do," Kimberly answered. "So long as I know where you are at every minute of the day, I trust you completely."

Liz rolled her eyes. "Thanks for the vote of confidence, Aunt Kimberly," she said sarcastically.

"Anytime, kid."

"Okay, you need to get to bed," Liz instructed. "Besides, you're not going to be able to get up early and train those girls for the Olympics if you're dead on your feet tomorrow morning."

Kimberly laughed. "All right. Good night, sweetie. Or afternoon," she corrected herself. "I'll call you tomorrow. Well, later today, for me. Tomorrow for you," she said. "Bye."

"Bye," Liz answered, hanging up the phone and returning to her homework, burying her head into it and silently cursing Dr. O for giving so much homework when it was only her first day here. Couldn't he have given her a little bit of a break? she thought miserably as she finally finished it after two and a half hours.

Desperate to get out of the house, Liz grabbed her purse and jacket, heading out of the apartment, locking it behind her as she walked down the steps and through the streets of Reefside, looking at the local hangouts around the town aimlessly until she reached a café crawling with teenagers.

"Haley's Cyberspace," she read on the front of it, frowning slightly. "What is this place?"

Her curiosity getting the better of her, Liz walked inside, looking around at all of the computers and video games that were scattered around the room. A lot of kids were on them while others were hanging out in front of the televisions or just talking at one of the tables.

"Wow," she said, stunned as she looked around, her hands in her pockets as she stepped further into the café. "This place is cool."

"Glad you approve," a friendly voice said from behind her and she spun around to see a nice-looking redhead right behind her. "You must be Liz Summers, just moved here." Liz blinked, startled that she knew that without even talking to her. "I'm Haley, I own the place," she said, as though that explained everything. "I know all and see all."

"Right," Liz said, bemused. "This is pretty amazing."

"Well, don't be shy, come on in," Haley said, gesturing her to come further in. "You want anything to drink?"

"I'll take a Coke or Pepsi if you got it," Liz answered.

"Coming right up." Haley headed behind the counter to fill up a glass and handed it to her as Liz sat down at the counter, still looking around in complete amazement.

"Thanks," she said as she listened to the music that was playing on the speakers, tapping her fingers rhythmically to the beat as the doors opened again and she glanced around, her heart jumping into her chest as she saw Conner coming through the door, chatting with his two friends.

But he stopped talking with them the second that he saw her, giving her a wave. She smiled back at him, waving back, and her heartbeat accelerated as he walked over to her.

"Hey, Liz," he said, grinning at her as his two friends walked up behind him, looking curiously at her. "Uh . . . guys, this is Liz Summers. Liz, this is Kira and Ethan," he introduced, pointing to each one of them in turn.

"Hi," Kira said, smiling at her.

"Nice to meet you," Ethan told her. "So how'd you find out about this place?"

"I was walking, it was here," Liz answered, shrugging. "That pretty much sums it up." Conner laughed and Kira grinned. Liz smiled as she ducked her head into her soda. "So, you play guitar?" she asked, nodding to the instrument that Kira was carrying. The blonde nodded eagerly.

"Yeah, my band plays here every once in awhile," she answered. "You play any?"

"Uh . . . I tried when I was seven and my dad paid me fifty bucks never to do it again," Liz answered, grinning. All three of them laughed and Liz smiled. "But I love music."

"Well, we're playing here next Friday," Kira informed her. "You should come. It starts at four."

Liz was startled by the invitation, but not displeased. "Uh . . . yeah, that sounds cool. I'll be there," she promised. Kira smiled.

"Good. Well, we'd better get to work on our social studies paper," she said, looking at the two boys. "Come on, guys, let's get to work."

"Yeah, I'll be right there," Conner said, glancing at her before looking at Liz. Once the two of them were alone, he sat down next to her. "Sorry, I have to get to work on this project."

"Don't worry about it," Liz said with a smile at him. "Lucky for me, I don't have to do it because I got here two days before you guys have to have it done. Lucky me," she deadpanned. Conner grinned.

"But, uh . . . since you're going to be here Friday, anyway, maybe after Kira's gig, we could do something," he suggested. "Maybe go see a movie or something."

Liz looked at him sceptically. "Like a date?"

"Well . . ." Conner hesitated, looking down and then chuckled. "You know, I'm usually better at this." Liz chuckled. "Yeah, like a date. Or you know, it could just be friends. We don't have to do the dating thing right away or at all, if you don't want to."

Liz took a deep breath. "That sounds like fun," she said, leaving no room for argument. "But Conner, I can't date you. Not yet, anyway," she said, looking down. "And it has nothing to do with you, okay? It's just . . ." Liz swallowed, forcing down tears. "I'm going through some stuff right now and . . . but I'd like to be friends. Maybe later, when things have settled down with me, we can try for something more. But right now, friendship is all I can really do."

Conner nodded slowly, concern etched into his face. "Is there anything I can help you with?" he asked.

With a smile, she stood up and hugged him, startling both of them, but he didn't pull away until she stepped back, looking right into his brown eyes. "You're doing a lot," she told him. "Go study."

"Well, could I maybe get your number or something?" Conner asked and she laughed, mentally kicking herself.

"Yeah, that would probably help," she said, digging in her purse for a pen and paper, scribbling her phone number and address onto the paper, handing it to him. He took the pen and paper, writing his own number down, handing it to her. "I'll see you."

"Talk to you later," Conner agreed, slipping the piece of paper into his pocket before he headed out towards his friends, all the while grinning while Liz watched him go, something stirring inside of her that she had never felt before.

Something strange.

Something exciting.

Or maybe both.

--

As the sun began to descend into the horizon, Liz began walking through the streets, heading back for her apartment when she heard something coming from behind her, almost as though they were following her. She paused briefly, glancing slightly behind her, but there was no one there.

Continuing on as though there was nothing amiss, Liz headed through the quiet streets, making sure that her gem was securely in her pocket and the pocket zipped before she stopped again.

"It's late," she informed her pursuer. "I'm tired and I do not want to play games. Show yourself."

That was all it took for the dinosaur dudes to jump out from where they were hiding and moved into attack. Liz took a defensive position, using the skills that Jason and Kim had taught her and a few that she had used on her brother when they had been horsing around.

Unfortunately, there were twenty of them and only one of her and they just kept coming, as though there were endless supplies of them. Liz grunted as she hit the ground, feeling the gem hum in her pocket for the second time that day. Looking down at it in bewilderment, Liz's head snapped up as she saw the dinosaur guys moving towards her.

Without even thinking about what she was doing, Liz threw out her hand to put some barrier between her and them. Some power flew out of her hand, sending the dinosaur guys backwards away from her.

Liz blinked, staring first at them, then down at her hand. "What on earth . . .?" she whispered, pulling the gem out of her pocket and examining it closely before she looked back up at her opponents. They were down, but who knew for how long? And there were too many of them; she needed to get out of here while she still had the chance.

Slipping the gem back into her pocket, Liz scrambled away from the dinosaur freaks and raced down the alleyway, rounding around the corner and as fast as she was able.

The second that she was out of the alleyway, she slammed right into Conner, who was heading out of the café with Kira and Ethan.

"Hey, Liz, what—" Conner began, startled. Liz shook her head, unable to stop the tears that were starting to spill down her cheeks as everything that had happened since her family had been killed came crashing down around her.

Conner's arms went around her and she buried her face into his chest, the sobs starting to rip right from her very soul as he held her. She heard Kira and Ethan disappear around the corner, undoubtedly to investigate, but Conner gently pried her off of him, forcing her to look up at him.

"Are you okay?" he asked. Liz nodded, wiping away the remains of tears off of her face. "All right, come on, let me take you home." He guided her away from the alleyway, heading towards her apartment, keeping his arm around her shoulders the entire time.

Liz wasn't about to admit this to Conner, but he made her feel safer than she had in months. Ever since her father and brother had died, she had been scared that something like that would happen to her or someone close to her.

But Conner cast a feeling of protection and warmth over her. Right there, in his arms, she felt like it was the safest place in the world.

She knew that he was dying to ask her what had happened, but he kept his mouth shut, not about to ask until she had calmed down a bit. Liz was quiet the entire time that they were walking, until they had reached her apartment.

Looking at him, Liz smiled at him. "Thank you," she said and Conner nodded, looking at her worriedly.

"Can I just ask? What exactly happened back there?" he asked her. "I don't mean to pry, but . . ."

Liz sighed, looking away from him. Even the police hadn't believed her when she had told them about the dinosaur guys attacking her family, but something inside of her told her that she could trust Conner. His brown eyes met hers and she reluctantly gave in.

"There were these . . . weird, dinosaur-looking creatures," she admitted quietly. Conner's eyes went wide. "They, uh . . . they came out of nowhere and attacked me." She looked up and saw his expression. Immediately, she regretted telling him. "I know how it sounds, but it's the truth," she said defensively.

"No, no, I believe you," Conner said firmly. "But why? I mean, do you know why they attacked you?"

Liz's eyes flew to his swiftly and she swallowed, not really ready to share the piece of information about the gem with him. "It's late," she said quietly, looking away. "I should get inside. And your mom and dad are probably wondering where you are."

"Liz . . ."

Pushing the door open, Liz slipped through it before he could stop her and shut the door behind her. Protecting herself from getting too close and getting hurt again.


	4. Capture and Rescue

**A New Shade of Pink**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Four: Capture and Rescue

For the next couple of days, Liz tried desperately to avoid Conner, though this proved to be a near-impossible task, because not only was he in three of her classes, but he kept trying to talk to her whenever he saw her in the hallway. Liz had to duck inside the girls' room more than once, forcing herself to strike up conversations with girls that she wouldn't have even talked to otherwise.

But she had to. Liz couldn't deny it, not even to herself, that she really liked Conner and she didn't want him to get hurt. Every time that she got close to Conner, she just had flashbacks of her father and Sam right before they were killed in front of her.

She couldn't risk that happening to Conner. And she knew that those things—whatever they were—were here in Reefside. So that meant that the psycho lady was here too and once she found out that Liz was here, then Liz had no doubt that she would track her down.

As Kimberly had said when Liz asked her if she would see those things again, they always stuck around. It was what they did.

Liz had brooded and pondered what had happened in that alleyway, the way that she had somehow magically thrown those creatures away from her like that and she had only been able to come to one conclusion.

That she had somehow developed telekinesis.

And the only way that she could think how was that it was somehow linked to that gem. Certainly, it would explain why that lady wanted it so badly, if it bestowed powers upon someone. Liz couldn't think of anything else that made any sense.

Once she had figured that out, Liz tried to figure out how to use it again, even practiced mental exercises, and it had worked a few times. Granted, it didn't work half of the time—okay, most of the time—but a few times, she was able to do it. And the few times that she had been able, she had struck what she had been aiming for.

Liz sighed as she walked into the apartment after school, shoving her hands into her pockets. She had come here for one purpose and that was to bring that woman to justice. So why was it that all of the reasons why she had come seemed to fly out the window whenever Conner came into the picture?

Sitting down on the couch, Liz ran her hands through her hair as she picked up her book off of the table, trying to focus on the characters' lives instead of her own, but unfortunately, she just managed to see her and Conner as the main characters, which brought her back to what she had been trying to forget about.

"Oh!" Liz tossed her book onto the table. "That's it! I have got to get out of here!" she muttered, going to her bedroom and picking up her purse and jacket off of her bed. Her gaze fell onto her camera, lying on the desk with some of her photographs.

More than anything, Liz loved taking pictures. Capturing a moment in time, preserving that moment for all eternity, she loved it. She had dreamed of becoming a photographer since she was a kid. Sam had planned on becoming a journalist, so they had planned on working together, with him as the writer and her as the photographer. It had seemed like a perfect match.

Liz hadn't taken a single picture since. . . . She just hadn't found the desire to photograph the way that she had used to. Now, however, it was something to get her mind off of things.

Grabbing her camera—which was one of the old-style ones instead of the digital ones that everybody had nowadays—Liz sling it and her purse over her shoulder before she grabbed her keys and headed out the door. She knew the perfect spot where she could photograph.

Heading towards the docks, Liz smiled happily as she found it peaceful and quiet as the river ran by, the quiet stream only broken by the calls of the birds singing. It was perfect, she thought cheerfully as she loaded up the camera to start taking pictures of the beautiful landscape.

Focusing the camera into position, Liz pressed the button to snap, capturing the river as the sun hit it, the way that the trees seemed to turn to gold with the approaching sunset, and the birds flying through the sky, calling for their mate.

Liz smiled as she captured another photograph and another. Everything seemed to melt away when she was taking pictures. She wished that she had remembered that before. With another grin, she poised the camera for another amazing shot when—

"Hi."

A small gasp of surprise escaped from Liz as she spun around, stumbling over her own feet in her alarm and would've gone tumbling into the water had a hand not reach out and caught her, pulling her to safety.

Breathing more heavily than she would've regularly, Liz tried to regain her composure as she looked at her rescuer. "Thanks," she said, looking up to find Conner standing right next to her and her heart lurched in her chest, wondering how long he had been there. "Conner . . ." she whispered, shocked to see him standing there.

"Hey," he said with a smile at her. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I saw you down here and I thought I'd come say hi. Haven't seen you in a couple days." Liz nodded, keeping her mouth shut, not trusting her voice as she lowered her eyes, well aware of the way her cheeks were starting to heat up. "So . . . how are you?"

"Fine," Liz said quickly. "I'm fine."

Conner looked down at her, his hands in his pockets. "I don't think you are," he said bluntly. Liz looked up at him sharply. "You wouldn't answer my question the other night, you've been completely avoiding me the last couple of days, and you won't look me in the eye," he added pointedly.

Liz forced herself to look at him directly in the eye so she could make a quick escape. "I have to go," she said, gathering up her stuff, but Conner wasn't about to let her leave.

"Look, was it something about those lizard guys the other night?" he asked. Liz shook her head wildly, not wanting him to get too close. "What happened, Liz? Tell me," he added more gently. "Whatever it is that happened, we can deal with it. I can handle it."

"Yeah?" Liz looked at him sharply. "Well, I thought that my dad and my brother could handle anything. Now they're lying six feet under," she said, not meaning to say that aloud.

Conner's face went pale and his mouth opened slightly, but his shock was enough to let her slip through his grasp and she was almost away from the docks when she heard the same sound that she heard the other night when those freaks appeared in that alleyway.

"Hello, Elizabeth," a dangerously familiar voice said from behind her. Liz spun around just in time to see the woman that she had been so determined to find right behind her.

"Liz, run!" Conner yelled at her, but her feet were frozen on the ground, moving into a defensive position. "What are you doing, run!"

But she couldn't. She couldn't do that, not when she was so close and she could possibly do what she came here to do—

She couldn't.

Two things happened at the same time. The first thing was that Conner was running at her, shouting a warning to her, taking down as many of those dinosaur freaks as he could while getting to her. The second thing was Liz felt a sharp pain explode in the back of her head and she saw dots in front of her eyes before everything went dark.

--

Groaning slightly as she slowly moved back into consciousness, Liz tried to make sure that all of her limbs were intact and in one piece before she thought above moving. Flexing her fingers and toes and shifting her arms and legs slowly, Liz began to sit up, opening her eyes as she did so.

She almost wished that she had stayed unconscious, because the second that she opened them, she found herself in a very small and very dark cell, with only one source of light coming from a look-see in the door.

"Man, I really am starting to be just like Aunt Kim," she muttered, getting to her feet as she looked around at her surroundings. Or at least, she tried to. It was really hard to see in that dark cell and she half-hoped that it would stay dark, because she didn't want to see what was going on around her.

Liz felt in her pockets and inhaled a sigh of relief when she felt the gem still remained in her pocket. Either they didn't search her or they couldn't take it without her permission, but either way, Liz didn't care. All that mattered was that she still had it with her.

Taking a deep breath, Liz got to her feet and moved towards the door so she could peer through the keyhole and see what was going on outside. The corridor outside was strangely quiet, but there was one guard outside, one of those dinosaur guys.

"Okay, Liz, think, come up with a plan," she muttered. "You can't just sit here and play the damsel in distress." Plan, plan . . . there was either two choices, both of which were plausible.

One, she could trick the guard into coming in here and knock him unconscious, thus leaving her unguarded and free to escape. Or two, she could break down the door and escape the hard way. Either way, she was going to have to knock out the guard, but that didn't seem too hard. These guys were hardcore, it seemed like, but they weren't too smart.

Liz peered out the door, making sure that it was clear besides that one guard, before she made her decision. Now was as good a time as ever to try her powers again.

Closing her eyes, Liz pressed her fingers to her temple, plunging into the depths of where the gem's power was stored inside her.

It roared with power and Liz felt something strange and primordial surge through her as she thrust out her hand and the door in front of her went flying off of its hinges, startling the guard outside as Liz stood in the doorway, looking down at the destroyed cell door weakly.

"Okay, I didn't mean for it to be that loud," she commented, kicking the dinosaur guy backwards and flipped upwards, landing gracefully in front of him and moving instantly into another kick, sending him down. "All right, now I just have to get out of here," she muttered, hurrying down the corridor.

But how was she going to get out of this place? She had absolutely no idea where she was and even if she did, then there seemed to be no end to these hallways, with no way to get out of this place.

Was Conner all right? she thought anxiously as she raced through the corridors, searching for the exit. Had they captured him too? No, no, they were just after her . . . please, please, don't let Conner be here? she prayed to whatever higher power might be listening. Let him be fine and away from this place. Let him be safe.

Liz let out a strangled cry as the lady that had haunted her nightmares suddenly appeared in front of her, with about twenty or so of those dinosaur guys and she skidded to a stop, backing up only to find twenty more of them right behind her.

"Uh-oh," she muttered, looking around desperately for an exit through them and finding no escape route. "This could potentially be a problem."

"Well, Miss Summers, I must say, I'm a little bit disappointed," the lady informed her. "As the niece of the original Pink Ranger, I was expecting something a bit more impressive."

Liz's head shot up as she heard the part about her aunt and the blood drained from her face. "How do you know about my aunt?" she asked sharply and the lady only laughed mirthlessly. "You know, you've really got me at a disadvantage. You seem to know a lot about me, but I really don't know anything about you. Oh," she added, "besides the fact that you're a murdering, conniving, psychotic lunatic."

But the woman's sneer only deepened. "My master calls me Elsa," she answered smoothly. "And I believe that you know what we want."

"You're not getting it," Liz said flatly, taking another look at her surroundings. "I don't know what it is about this gem that is so important to you, but there is no way I am just going to hand it over to you just like that. And there's no way that you're going to get it from me, because there's a big difference between now and our last meeting."

"And what might that be?" Elsa inquired.

"Now? I've got nothing left to lose," she said harshly. "But you do." Elsa's dark eyes went wide and Liz used the moment to plunge into the depths of her power and use all that she had inside her to telekinetically move them out of the way, throwing them to either side.

Once they were out of the way, Liz didn't waste any time racing past them and down the hall.

"After her!" she heard Elsa scream and she ran as fast as she could, desperate to put as much distance between them and her as was humanly possible. Where was the way out?

Just when Liz was about to give up all hope of ever finding the way out of this place, just when she was ready to stop and fight, she heard a strange sound and without warning, three multi-coloured masked figures appeared out of nowhere, aboard motorcycles.

"What the . . .?" she began as the Power Rangers landed behind her, creating a blockage between the dinosaur guys and her. The one in red turned his mask head right towards her.

"Get on!" he ordered her.

Liz shook her head wildly. "No way, I'm not going to just get on some motorcycle with some guy I don't even know!" she protested just as those freaky dinosaur guys came around the corner with Elsa. She looked up at them, then back at the Red Ranger. "All right, maybe I am."

Moving towards him, she climbed on the back of his bike, hearing Elsa's cry of, "Stop them!" as she did so.

Her arms wrapped around his waist and she felt something oddly familiar go through her as she sat behind him on his motorcycle. It was a feeling of safety and protection, something that she had felt recently, but that had been with . . .

"Conner?!" she whispered in disbelief. She felt his ripple of surprise, but there was no time for that discussion. Not now. There would be time for that later, if they survive this.

All she knew was that the Red Ranger was Conner and as they drove forward into a flash of green light, she knew that she was safe.


	5. New Ranger

**A New Shade of Pink**

by Lady Dawson

Chapter Five: New Ranger

Liz held on to Conner the entire time that she was flying through that weird green portal thing that they were going through and the next thing that she knew, they were in the forest, landing somewhere in the middle of it and she let out a slow breath, trying to get her mind in one place. The Blue and Yellow Rangers were getting off of their bikes as Conner got off his, helping her down.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

"I will be once you get me off of this thing," Liz grumbled. She had never liked motorcycles and had flatly refused to get on one ever since she was a kid, but this had been an unusual circumstance.

Conner chuckles as he helped her down off of the motorcycle, the tingly feeling going through her as his hand touched hers. Liz swallowed, staring down at their linked hands before she looked back up at him now, her brown eyes looking up at his masked face.

"We're gonna have to talk," he said before looking over at his two fellow Rangers, who were watching this in complete bewilderment. "She knows . . . at least, about me. Not about you two, I don't think . . ."

"Wait, let me guess," Liz sighed, looking at the two of them. She pointed at the Blue Ranger. "Ethan," she guessed before looking at Yellow, "and Kira. I should've known."

Ethan let out a groan before his helmeted head looked directly at Conner. "Oh, Dr. O is going to love this," he complained. "I really hope that you've got a good explanation for this, because I've got nothing." Liz only grinned at him just as the portal reopened and a dozen of the dinosaur freaks appeared out of nowhere.

"Okay, somebody want to explain how they did that?" Liz asked. "Or how you guys did it? And what are those things, exactly?"

"They're called Tyranndrones," Kira informed her. "And we'll explain the rest later. For now, you need to get out of here."

Liz gave her a look. "No way," she said. "Those guys killed my family, they kidnapped me and threw me into a really dark and slimy cell. No way am I running from this."

There was no time to argue since the newly-dubbed Tyranndrones—Liz really preferred dinosaur freaks, because it just summed it up all too easily—moved into attack and Liz jumped in with the Rangers, fighting with everything that she had, with Conner moving right next to her in order to keep her out of danger.

And possibly to keep her from getting herself kidnapped again. But either way, Liz wasn't complaining.

Downing Tyranndrone after Tyranndrone, Liz felt the gem in her pocket start to pulsate and she threw out her hand, sending them straight into a tree before doing the same thing with the others.

It felt like forever until all of the Tyranndrones were destroyed and by then, Liz was exhausted. Conner, Kira, and Ethan powered down, all of them looking at Liz.

Just as Conner opened his mouth, possibly to ask something, a beeping noise caught their attention and a familiar voice came through what looked like a silver bracelet on Conner's wrist. She looked and saw that Kira and Ethan had similar ones.

_"Hey, is everything okay? You guys make it out all right?" _

"Is that Haley?" Liz whispered, startled. Ethan nodded once as Conner moved the bracelet towards his mouth to speak into it.

"Yeah, we're all right," he answered the café owner. "Mission accomplished, but, uh . . . there were a few problems. We'll explain when we get back to the lab." Conner looked at Liz, then at Ethan and Kira. "You should probably come with us. Dr. Oliver's gonna want to hear about this."

"Wait a second, Dr. Oliver's in on this?" Liz wanted to know, raising an eyebrow as Conner climbed back on the motorcycle. "Oh, you can't expect me to get back on that thing! No way! I am deathly afraid of motorcycles!" she protested weakly.

"And . . . how exactly are you going to get to Dr. O's?" Conner inquired, cocking an eyebrow as he grinned wildly at her.

Liz folded her arms across her chest, trying to come up with an answer. "Well, I'm . . . I'm going to walk," she said firmly. "It's a lovely day out and I feel like walking." Conner gave her a look. "Remind me to kill you later for this," she muttered as she climbed on the back of the bike.

"I'll help you if you want me to," Kira offered with a laugh as she and Ethan climbed on the back of theirs.

"I might take you up on that," Liz muttered darkly as she gripped Conner around the waist as the engine roared to life and they raced through the forest, heading directly for what she assumed was their secret command centre. They couldn't get there soon enough, she thought weakly as she shut her eyes, blocking out the sights as she waited until she was able to get off of this death trap, as she constantly referred motorcycles as.

Finally, Liz felt them coming to a stop and she opened her eyes to find herself in some kind of underground ruins mixed with modern technology, where Haley, the local café owner, and Dr. Oliver, a high school science teacher, were already waiting for them. Both of them looked startled when they saw Liz on the back of Conner's bike.

"What are you—?" Dr. Oliver began.

"Dr. O, before you go off, she sort of figured it out on her own," Conner protested, holding up his hands to ward off the explosion that was probably coming from the teacher.

"It's not his fault, Dr. Oliver," Liz said weakly. "I just . . . I kind of knew." She didn't explain how she knew, just that she did. Even Liz couldn't really explain how it was that she knew. "If you're worried about secrecy, I'm not gonna say anything."

Dr. Oliver sighed before looking at Conner pointedly. "We'll talk about this later," he informed him. Conner looked down guiltily. "Take a seat, Liz," he instructed, gesturing towards one of the seats.

After a quick look at Conner, who nodded encouragingly, she slowly walked down and took the seat that he had instructed. Liz twisted her hands nervously as she looked up at her science teacher.

She didn't know what surprised her more; that Conner and his friends were Power Rangers or that her science teacher was helping them.

"Liz, you know a dangerous secret. I'm not gonna lie and say that you're not going to be in danger by knowing what you've learned today. You're gonna be in as much danger as any of us are." Liz nodded mutely, keeping her gaze glued to her hands. "But none of us are gonna let anything happen to you."

"I can take care of myself," Liz said without thinking. "I'm not defenceless."

Dr. Oliver held up his hands. "I never said that you were. But Mesagog doesn't fight fair. But we'll do everything within our power to keep you safe and out of as much danger as is possible."

Liz shook her head. "It doesn't matter," she whispered, tears filling in her eyes. "They're the reason that I came here in the first place." Dr. Oliver looked startled and Conner moved closer, kneeling beside her.

"What do you mean?"

"They're the reason why I moved here," Liz whispered. "They . . . that woman, Elsa, she and those things attacked my family. She wanted me to do something, but when I refused, she . . ." Her voice trembled slightly. "She killed them," she whispered brokenly. "She killed my dad and my brother . . . right in front of me. And she said that if I ever changed my mind, then she would be here in Reefside. I came here to stop her."

Tears began to spill down her face and Liz moved her hand to cover her mouth as sobs racked her body. Conner's arms went around her and she buried her face into his chest, letting the sobs overtake her.

His arms around here felt nice and warm and safe. She didn't understand why she felt like right there, in his arms, was the safest place in the entire world. What did it mean?

After she had been crying for several minutes, Liz finally raised her head and wiped her tears away. Kira moved towards her, handing her a Kleenex with a small smile. "Thanks," she whispered, drying her tears with it before she looked up at them with red-rimmed eyes.

"I'm sorry, Liz," Dr. Oliver told her gently. "If I'd been there, I would've done anything to spare you that." Liz nodded, believing him.

"It's not your fault, Dr. O," she whispered, lowering her head. "It's my fault. It's my fault they're dead . . ."

"No, it's not," Kira said not unkindly. "There's nothing that you could have done to stop it."

"Yes, there is!" Liz yelled, pulling away from Conner's grasp as she stood up, plunging her hand into her pocket. "If I had just given her this stupid thing to begin with, then they would still be alive!"

She flung her hand out, revealing for the first time the pink gem that she had kept hidden since her family's demise.

No one moved, no one spoke, no one hardly even breathed as they all stared at the gem that lay in Liz's open hand, all of their eyes wide and Dr. Oliver's eyes fastened on it with some kind of understanding as he slowly let out a breath.

"Well, that explains the energy reading that we found," he said, breaking the silence. "It appeared in Reefside about a week ago. I had a pretty good feeling it was another gem, but we couldn't lock it down."

"Wait a minute, does this mean that Liz is a Power Ranger, too?" Conner asked. Liz's head lifted sharply towards Conner, then at Haley, before finally moving on to Dr. O.

"Hold on a second," she said, holding up her hands, disbelief flooding through her. "How could I possibly be a Ranger? I mean, besides being able to throw things around, this gem hasn't really given me any really cool suits or gadgets or anything like that."

"No, I do that," Haley answered. "If you want to."

"The choice is ultimately up to you," Dr. Oliver told her. "But if we're going to defeat Mesagog, then we could use your help." Liz stared at him, then at Haley before looking back at the other Rangers.

Conner looked ecstatic, Kira looked thrilled, and Ethan looked excited as all three of them waited for her to make the decision that would either gain a new Ranger or lose a potential one.

"I don't know," she whispered. But she knew that she couldn't do this on her own. That had already been proven. She had tried fighting these guys by herself and all it had done was get herself captured and barely escaping death had it not been for Conner and the others coming and rescuing her.

"Oh, come on, Liz, you can't leave me to be the only girl Ranger around here," Kira complained. "Please?"

"Yeah, we could use you," Conner agreed. "And you fight really good."

"All thanks to my aunt and uncle's teaching," Liz pointed out as she wrapped her arms around herself, trying to think.

She did need their help. And they needed her, much as she wanted to deny it to herself. Liz took a deep breath and locked eyes with Conner, who looked hopeful.

"All right," she agreed. "I'll do it." A smile spread across her face as Conner grinned happily, scooping up her up and swinging her around.

"Conner, let me down!" she shrieked while the others laughed. "Let me down! Don't drop me!" she begged, but laughter escaped from her as he spun her round and round, unaware of the wistful look that Dr. Oliver cast towards them, almost as though they reminded him of something.

When Conner finally let her down, she was sure that she was going to fall flat on her face because she was so dizzy. "I'm gonna make you regret that, Conner McKnight," she scolded, placing her hands on her hips and glaring at the Red Ranger.

Conner gulped and took a few steps back. "Probably when you least expect it," she added with a smile, patting him on the shoulder before looking at Dr. Oliver and Haley. "So what do I have to do?"

"Give me your gem," Haley answered. "And I'll do the rest. Don't worry, you'll get it back tomorrow," she assured her. "I just need to create a morpher and communicator for it, that's all." Liz hesitated, but reluctantly gave Haley the gem that she'd held onto for so long.

And with that one decision, she began taking steps that would lead her to her destiny.


End file.
